Metalcatto
Here we go again, our favorite guilty pleasure at MER: French Black Metal. You know how it has to be. One-member band, checked. Antiq as label, checked. Harsh production, checked. Lyrics about conformity and consumerism—but please buy the merch—checked. It’s all here, and we’re ready to dive into Tarask‘s Sitra Ahra with high hopes and dreams.
Okay, enough of all that uplifting talk. Sitra Ahra is a punch through the table. The production is much better than the artwork would have you believe, and the riffs are exactly what the heart needs after freezing outside at the bus stop. Even if the tracks lean toward “this is atmospheric long,” they keep moving and changing in a way that makes me think of Grima without the accordions and with drums that have little interest in pleasing you. There’s a mechanical precision to the rhythm section that feels intentional rather than accidental.
Speaking of that, yes, the drumming is dirty and sometimes almost machine-like. I’m not making any accusations, okay? The album has enough content to make any average Metalhead feel satisfied. However, what I want to highlight about Sitra Ahra is how it rather breaks away from many tropes of the French scene. As in, less Avant-Garde, less Folk, but most of all, less talking. That’s great. It’s not “pure” Black Metal by orthodox standards, but it does push things to an epic place without falling into melodrama. The atmosphere is cold but not suffocating, aggressive but not exhausting.
Rough week!
Yet, I should prepare you by saying that Tarask is still deeply entrenched in this overexplored niche, and maybe it’ll take a few more tweaks here and there to truly stand out in this cruel and morally decadent world. You still need decent headphones or speakers to tell the differences here. Otherwise, it’ll just feel like another atmospheric album that prolongs the agony a bit too long. The nuances are there, but they require attention.
That wasn’t too harsh, right? Well, if you’ve never gotten into the “meditative” side of Black Metal, maybe Tarask is the way to go. It has that cathartic and grandiose approach, but also just delivers savage riff after another. You won’t need much patience or tolerance for potato recording styles. That has to be a plus in the books, right? For a genre often accused of being inaccessible, Sitra Ahra offers a relatively painless entry point without sacrificing integrity. That’s worth something.
Label: Antiq
Release date: April 7th, 2026
Website: tarask666.bandcamp.com
Country: France
Score: 3.7/5.0
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